Links Family History Blog

Introducing the BRANT family.   In this post, I focus on The British Side of my family to introduce my English great-grandparents (my father's paternal grandparents), Canadian BRANT family founders Jack BRANT and spouse Edith Jane BROWETT. Meet Jack BRANT and Edith Jane BROWETT. The first ancestor in my BRANT family line (see Note 1 below) to migrate to Canada, Jack BRANT was born on 9 February 1876 at 39 Caroline Street in the industrial city of Leicester, England. Son of a bricklayer, Jack was the youngest of two children born to parents John BRANT and Elizabeth RICHARDSON. Fig. 1: Snip from Jack's birth registration recording his 9 February 1876 birth in Leicester, England.  (Photo credit: General Register Office of England, 2008; click to enlarge) By the time Jack was five years old, the family was living within St. Margaret’s Parish in Leicester, at 25 South Church Gate. By 1891, when Jack was 15 years old, he was already working as a shoe maker. His family still li...

Introducing the ELDER family. In an earlier post, I introduced the founders of the TULLY branch of my father's maternal family. They arrived in the Huntingdon region of Quebec, Canada from Scotland about 1817. Their story, and my ancestral heritage, is interwoven with two other Scottish families who settled in the Huntingdon region of Quebec around the same time: the ELDERs and the TAYLORs. Today, I introduce the founding members of my ELDER family line. Figure 1: ELDERs, TULLYs and TAYLORs - Interwoven family connections in Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada (Click to enlarge) The ELDER family (like the TULLYs), are also on my father's maternal side and arrived in Canada - specifically Lower Canada - from Scotland around 1817. They settled in the region of Huntingdon, Quebec and, along with other families such as the TULLYs and the TAYLORs, were part of a migration of British immigrants to North America that took place over a number of years following the War of 1812. The Canadian fo...

Introducing the TULLY family. The TULLY family (on my father's maternal side) arrived in Canada - specifically Lower Canada - from Scotland around 1817. They settled in the region of Huntingdon, Quebec and were part of a migration of British immigrants to North America that took place over a number of years following the War of 1812. The Canadian founder of the TULLYs in my family was 5th-great grandfather James TULLY. He was born about 1780 in Morebattle, Roxburghshire, Scotland and died in Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada in 1856. His spouse, Newton Rebecca BUCKHAM (1782-1854), was also of Roxburghshire, Scotland. Two of their daughters married into two other Scottish-Canadian founding families in Quebec, the ELDERs and the TAYLORs; and two of their children (first cousins James Tully ELDER and Jane Alexis TAYLOR) married in Ontario, then later moved to the new province of Manitoba about 1883 to farm. My paternal great-great grandfather was their son William John ELDER (1874-1959). Res...

I appreciate your patience. After taking a months-long break from blogging to attend to some family issues, I will soon return from hiatus and begin posting new ancestor profiles and research insights shortly.  Preparing to break through some brick walls! Join me as I  continue to work on the Acadian, Cole FANs, DIY Genealogy, and Founder series;  the COLE Name Study; and  begin to dive into the use of new-to-me research methods such as location scans and using DNA to enhance my efforts.  I hope to see you soon as I continue to share my journey of discovery.

Les Filles du Roi In an earlier post,  The French Side: Marie Catherine Levesque , I mentioned several Filles du Roi (King's Daughters) in the direct paternal and maternal family lines of my 2nd great-grandmother, Marie Catherine Levesque (see also Levesque and Michaud on blog page  The French Side ). Filles du Roi were the more than 700 courageous female pioneers who, between the years of 1663 and 1673, left everything and everyone they knew in France to cross a vast ocean during a war with Britain and settle in a dangerous new French colony.  But these fearless women did it, and became the progenitors of a vast number of Canadians possessing French heritage. VIDEO: Family Line Founder - Jeanne Marguerite Chevalier (1645-1716) Figure 1: Lineage of Jeanne Chevalier to Marie Catherine Levesque Today, with the help of Lisa Elvin-Staltari and her YouTube channel,  Have Roots, Will Travel,  I pay tribute to Jeanne Marguerite Chevalier : Fille du Roi, Québec pi...

Les Filles du Roi In an earlier post,  The French Side: Marie Catherine Levesque , I mentioned several Filles du Roi (King's Daughters) in the direct paternal and maternal family lines (Levesque and Michaud) of my 3rd great-grandmother, Marie Catherine Levesque. Filles du Roi were the more than 700 courageous female pioneers who, between the years of 1663 and 1673, left everything and everyone they knew in France: to sail on a dangerous ocean voyage on an uncomfortable ship with minimal amenities, complete with the risk of contracting a serious disease; to land in a war zone (the British and French were at war), where the risk of supply lines to France being cut off for years was a reality; and to marry a stranger within a short time after disembarking, have children together, and carve a life out of the wilderness.  Who today would take on such a challenge, and the hard work and isolation that goes with it, with so few of the modern supports and comforts we are accu...

Family Line Founder Series. This ancestor profile continues a series of posts about my family's first Canadians. I feel that remembering my family's founding members recognizes and honours their courage in leaving behind all that was familiar - family, friends, homeland - for the dream of a new and better life in a wild and sometimes harsh New World. William Hornsby Hutchinson (1824-1907) Today, I wish to remember William Hornsby Hutchinson, my 3rd great-grandfather and Hutchinson family founder in Canada. William was born on 15 June 1824 in the North East of England, in the tiny village of Heighington in Durham County (see  Figure 1  below).  Figure 1: County Durham in England's North East Region. Located in the rich farmland of southeastern Durham County, Heighington village was - and still is - a farming community. In ancient times, what is now Durham County formed part of the northern border between Scotland and Roman Britain. During William's time, the county wa...

Family Line Founder Series With this first ancestor profile featuring my 3rd great-grandmother, I begin a series of posts about relatives who immigrated to Canada and were the first to found their respective family lines - in other words, my family's first Canadians.  Their names and stories, even with only the barest of details known, tell the story of the European settlement of Canada at a human level. Remembering these individuals recognizes their courage in leaving behind all that was familiar - family, friends, their homeland - for the dream of a new and better life in a wild and sometimes harsh new world. Eliza Emma (Essex) Sutton (1850-1919) Eliza Emma Essex (ca. 1910) On this day, the 105th anniversary of her death, I wish to remember my 3rd great-grandmother: family-line founder Eliza Emma Essex.  Born in Stepney, England (a region of East London) on 14 March 1850, Eliza was the only child born to middle-class father William Essex (a manufacturing chemist and widower)...